KNOWN ISSUE: Firefox Launching as Black Box

For some PC users, when they click to open Mozilla Firefox, it is launching as a black window that takes up a majority of your desktop screen. This is a known issue that UWB IT is currently working to correct. While we work diligently to get Firefox up and running properly, here are some work arounds that will hopefully cause minimal disruption.

You are welcome to use a different web browser (such as Internet Explorer or Chrome) while we fix the issue with Firefox.

If you would like to troubleshoot and resolve the issue on your own, please follow the steps below (the steps below are for a PC). This is the quickest method for getting you up and running with Firefox:

Close Firefox. If you can't see what you're doing due to the black box, click the red X in the top right corner and then press 'Enter'.

Hold down the shift key and double click on the Firefox icon to launch it in safe mode.

Press the "Alt" key on your keyboard.This will bring up a menu along the top of the web browser. Click on "Tools" and then click "Options"

Within the "Options" window, click on the "Advanced" icon. Then click the smaller "General" tab within the Advanced options tab.

Under the "Browsing" options, uncheck the box for "Use hardware acceleration when available".

Click "OK" and then close this window and Firefox. You can then re-open Firefox as you usually would to verify that it is working properly.

Once you've completed these steps, Firefox should work as usual for you. You will not need to change these settings again even after we resolve the issue on our end. UWB IT will notify the campus when this issue has been resolved.

If these steps did not resolve the issue, please let our Helpdesk know. Also, if you are using a Mac and are experiencing issues with Firefox, contact the UWB IT Helpdesk. Please use a different web browser until we are able to fix this issue.